Wu Yi Fan        Kim Joon Myun

"Surprise me," echoes in Yifan's mind. That was the answer Joonmyun gave him when he asked what they were going to do and where they are going to go for their date.

 

Yifan keeps pacing back and forth in his dorm just thinking. He's not the type to worry about things like this, but why does he feel like this date needs to be just perfect?

 

He grabs his prized possession from the bed, a stuffed alpaca named Ace.

 

"What should I do, Ace?" Yifan asks repeatedly, shaking the poor thing hoping to get answers from it.

 

"Ack, you wouldn't even know," Yifan throws Ace on the bed, "you're just a stuffed alpaca!"

 

He sits on his bed, apologizing for abusing Ace like that and he promises never to do it again.

 

He goes back to pacing because that helps him think. He looks at his slowly filling bookshelf, most of which are self-help books, and grabs the first book without looking at it, and goes to a random page. A cursory look back at the cover tells him that it was his old astronomy textbook and the page he lands on is a picture of a telescope. He remembers a science museum a few miles outside the city. He raises an eyebrow and believes he's thought of the Best Idea Ever.

 

He sends a text to Joonmyun about their date without giving out any major details. Joonmyun replies that he can’t wait for their date. Yifan is so excited that the night before their date, he’s unable to sleep thinking of Joonmyun.

 

 

ʚɞ

 

 

As discussed over text, Yifan will pick up Joonmyun from the café. Yifan has even rented a car for their date as they will be hopping from one place to another. He gets out his vehicle first and straightens the sleeves of his white dress shirt and black slacks. He pats his gelled blond hair to check if his hair is still in place. After doing so he heads to the café, filled with both nervousness and excitement.

 

He spots Joonmyun on a chair, reading. He’s wearing a black dress shirt and jeans. Minseok places two thermoses on a table, while Luhan is busy wiping tables. Yifan waves at Joonmyun, and Joonmyun looks up at him waving back and smiling. He returns the book he read, and Yifan picks up the two thermoses and both head off.

 

“Have fun you two,” Minseok says.

 

“Take care!” Luhan adds, as they wave goodbye.

 

“Where are we going?” Joonmyun asks as they walk to the car.

 

“It’s a surprise.” Yifan winks.

 

Joonmyun enters the car, and Yifan does too. Yifan fishes something out of his pocket—a huge handkerchief.

 

“What’s this?” Joonmyun asks, looking at the hanging handkerchief.

 

“Wear it as a blindfold,” Yifan says.

 

Joonmyun sighs but complies anyway. He grabs the blindfold and tightly ties it around his eyes.

 

“Can you see anything?” Yifan asks while holding out two fingers, Joonmyun shakes his head. He asks again, this time holding out all of his fingers, and Joonmyun confirms he cannot see a thing with another shake of the head. For the last time, Yifan makes a heart sign, and Joonmyun huffs insisting that he really cannot see a thing past the blindfold. Relieved, Yifan starts the car, steps on the gas, and drives to their location.

 

On their drive to the surprise venue, Yifan asks what book Joonmyun was reading before he arrived. Joonmyun shares that it’s Please Take Care of Mother and discusses to Yifan what he’s read so far. Yifan listens intently to what Joonmyun says.

 

Joonmyun also talks about the books he has yet to read like: Memoirs of a Geisha and The Time Keeper’s Wife. Yifan says he’s watched Memoirs already, and Joonmyun states he hasn’t, so Yifan suggests they watch it together sometime. Joonmyun agrees, and will tell Yifan once he’s done reading the book. When they run out of other things to talk about in the car, Joonmyun starts singing along to the latest pop songs on the radio, all the while Yifan taps his fingers to the beat of the song. Yifan blushes when he hears Joonmyun’s singing voice It’s as lovely as his normal speaking voice; which makes it a relief that Joonmyun is wearing the blindfold, so he doesn’t have to see the red that paints Yifan’s face.

 

They arrive at the venue in an hour, Yifan notes.

 

Joonmyun feels the car has stopped and asks if they have arrived, Yifan answers with an affirmative. Yifan then helps Joonmyun out of the car and guides him somewhere. Yifan opens the backseat and grabs: a picnic mat, a basket, and a head flashlight, leaving jackets there. There is a huge building near where they have parked, but it’s not where they are going. Instead, they head to another area where there is a big telescope hanging out from the building.

 

“Are we there yet?” Joonmyun asks, swaying his arms, trying to feel for whatever’s near him and Yifan is just guiding him by the shoulder.

 

“Almost there,” Yifan whispers.

 

True enough, they reach their destination in a few minutes. Joonmyun stays in place, frozen, while Yifan hurriedly sets the picnic mat on the floor and the basket. He wears the head flashlight, looks for someone, and raises a thumbs-up at them. He runs back to Joonmyun and loosens the makeshift blindfold.

 

Joonmyun looks around and wonders where they are… a planetarium or a science museum perhaps. He sees Yifan wearing a head flashlight and holding a bunch of index cards He raises an eyebrow and tries not to laugh.

 

“Lights,” Yifan snaps his fingers and the lights go off.

 

Immediately, a hologram of stars appears in front of Joonmyun as Yifan narrates about the galaxy and beyond. Joonmyun smiles when he is surrounded by all these stars and tries to catch one. He is in awe that these celestial bodies surround them. They are of different color, shape, and size. Suddenly, the animation switches from a field of stars to planets in the solar system. When a planet comes near Joonmyun, he evades it. Yifan giggles when he sees this and continues narrating. The last animation is a hologram of the whole universe, zooming from different galaxies to another. Joonmyun wishes that he could touch them, but seeing the hologram and Yifan narrating everything about the galaxy is enough.

 

“And that’s how the universe came to be,” Yifan concludes, peeling off the head flashlight and pocketing the index cards on his back pocket. Joonmyun applauds on Yifan’s discussion. The hologram dissipates and the lights are switched on.

 

“That was amazing!” Joonmyun remarks, “It’s out of this world.”

 

Yifan laughs. He then walks to the telescope that sticks out from the building where they are at, and Joonmyun follows him. Yifan tells Joonmyun to take a peek at the skies above them. He does as he is told and leans in to look through the eyepiece. Joonmyun comments that it’s rare to see stars in the city, and to see them through a telescope is magical. Yifan checks his phone to search for something, and breathes a smile of relief that they’re still on schedule.

 

“Shall we?” Yifan points to the picnic set-up and lets Joonmyun walk over there ahead of him. Yifan gives himself a pat on the back, as the self-help books have told him to. Joonmyun sits first and Yifan follows. Joonmyun looks inside the basket and sees the two thermoses and sandwiches Minseok prepared for them. Yifan hands Junmyeon his Americano, while he takes a sip of his Green Tea Latte.

 

The two start conversing, about almost everything, but Joonmyun does most of the talking. If there’s anything Yifan picked up from their conversation is that Joonmyun is passionate. Joonmyun talks about the things he loves and he loves doing, and Yifan sees that there’s a glint in Joonmyun’s eyes. They are similar to the stars that flashed right in front of their eyes… it gleams and it twinkles. From talking about his favourite books, manga, anime, and music, Joonmyun seems to describe how much all of it has affected it him. Or maybe it’s just the coffee. He smiles when he talks about them, makes hand gestures, and even asks Yifan his opinion about them. Joonmyun notices that he’s been talking a lot, but Yifan says he doesn’t mind one bit. He likes seeing Joonmyun this way. He’s enchanted by him, and maybe he’s falling in love with the short brunet.

 

But Joonmyun notices Yifan checking his watch from time to time, and Yifan declares he has another surprise for him. So, the two stand, clean up, and quickly exit because Yifan states it’s going to be a long ride there, and they might miss Yifan’s next and last surprise. As Joonmyun enters the vehicle, Yifan puts the basket and the mat on the backseat and opens the door of the driver’s seat.

 

“Would I be wearing the blindfold again?” Joonmyun whines, crossing his arms and pouting at Yifan.

 

Yifan won’t admit it but he thinks Joonmyun is cute this way, but he hands Joonmyun the blindfold anyway, and they set off to their other destination.

 

Yifan knows the drive there would take two hours, so he times everything—from going to the rest stop and the toll booths—because he wants everything to go the way he wants it.

 

The whole ride there, Joonmyun sleeps; his head rests on the window. Meanwhile, Yifan picks up the pace when he sees the skies turning a dark blue. According to the GPS, they are only a few more minutes away from their destination. They arrive just in time. Yifan parks the car in an open area and grabs jackets from the backseat. He rushes outside and to wake up Joonmyun from the passenger side.

 

“Joonmyun,” Yifan says, poking Joonmyun awake.

 

Joonmyun snorts awake, causing Yifan to chuckle.

 

“We’re here,” Yifan states. Joonmyun moves from his seat and stands up, with Yifan guiding him.

 

Joonmyun figures that they are at a beach, from the smell of the sea and the squawk of birds from afar. Yifan places his jackets on his shoulder so he could lead Joonmyun to the beach with his hands. They drag their feet on the sand. Yifan notices that Joonmyun’s teeth are chattering and he’s complaining because of the cold.

 

“Wait let me put a jacket on you,” Yifan says.

 

“I can put it on myself, you know. Just because I’m short, doesn’t mean I’m weak!” Joonmyun exclaims, but sneezes right on cue.

 

Just then, Yifan pulls Joonmyun into a bear hug causing Joonmyun to yelp. He puts a jacket on Joonmyun anyway. A jacket slips from his shoulder and lands on the sand, and Yifan doesn’t pick it up. Instead he looks at Joonmyun, who’s still blindfolded. Joonmyun raises the blindfold so he could look into Yifan’s eyes. Meanwhile, Yifan slowly traces Joonmyun’s lips with his thumb, wanting to kiss him. Yifan’s hand makes it way onto Joonmyun’s nape, and he tilts his head downward. Joonmyun tiptoes and places a hand on Yifan’s jaw and closes his eyes in anticipation. Yifan giggles, but he goes in for the kill. He presses his lips on Joonmyun’s, and it marks their first ever kiss. It’s long and sweet.